Canada plunges into a deep freezeOttawa (AFP) Jan 06, 2014 -
Extreme cold in Canada Monday disrupted flights and school classes, caused widespread power outages and created havoc on roads.

Temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit) with a wind chill -- colder than the surface of Mars -- plunged the western Prairies region into a deep freeze, heightening risks of frostbite and hypothermia.

Toronto, Montreal and the capital Ottawa braced for a flash freeze with temperatures forecast to drop as much as 40 degrees in less than 24 hours, after locals awoke to unusually warm temperatures (above freezing) and rain.

Environment Canada warned of "treacherous" travelling conditions.

"Extreme caution is advised for people heading outdoors," the government agency said. "Exposed skin may freeze in less than five minutes."

One in ten flights from Toronto's international airport were cancelled. And hundreds of car accidents in central Ontario and Quebec provinces were blamed on slick roads and fierce winds.

This comes after Toronto area residents continue to recover from an ice storm that left 300,000 hydro customers in the dark over the Christmas holidays.

More than 30,000 residents of the Atlantic island province of Newfoundland meanwhile were still without power after a blizzard knocked out electricity last week. At its peak, the blackout covered the entire island, affecting nearly 200,000 residents.

The bitter chill gripping North America is a result of Arctic air that has spilled southwards, and global warming may be a cause, an expert said on Monday.

Arctic air is normally penned in at the roof of the world by a powerful circular wind called the polar vortex, said Dim Coumou, a senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) near Berlin.

When the vortex weakens, the air starts heading southwards, bringing exceptional snow and chill to middle latitudes.

The weather shift is also helped by changes in a high altitude wind called the jet stream.

This convection, which usually encircles the northern hemisphere in a robust and predictable fashion, starts to zigzag, creating loops of extremely cold weather or unseasonably mild weather, depending on the location.

"We've seen a strong meandering of the jetstream, and the cold air associated with the polar vortex has been moving southwards, and in this case over the eastern parts of Canada and the United States, bringing this extreme cold weather," said Coumou.

The phenomenon has occurred repeatedly in recent winters, he noted.

What drives the polar vortex is the difference in temperature between the Arctic and mid latitudes, said Coumou.

Once sharp, this differential has blurred in recent years as the Arctic -- where temperatures are rising at about twice the global average -- warms up, he said.

"We've seen this type of cold spell more often lately in recent winters, in Europe but also in the US," Coumou said in a phone interview.

"The reason why we see these strong meanderings is still not fully settled, but it's clear that the Arctic has been warming very rapidly. We have good data on this. Arctic temperatures have risen much more than other parts of the globe."

Last month, European scientists reported that the volume of sea ice in November was around 50 percent greater compared with a year earlier, following a recovery in the Arctic summer.

Despite this bounceback, sea ice remains at near-record documented lows and its overall trend is one of retreat, they said.

Coumou cautioned that Arctic sea ice "is just one of the important factors" behind disruption of the polar vortex".

Man dies as storms continue to batter BritainLondon (AFP) Jan 05, 2014
A man died after his mobility scooter fell into the River Thames on Sunday, police said, as dozens of flood warnings remained in place across Britain.
The 47-year-old was pulled from the river near Oxford, south England, after he fell in while trying to avoid a flooded pathway.
Police are treating his death as unexplained.
More than 200 homes along the west coast of Britain have bee ... read more

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency.
All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement